Longtime church organist finds keys to a happy life

Lifelong local resident Bob Waldele whimsically said his title of official choir director at the Plattekill Reformed Church on Kings Highway in Saugerties, one he had held for the past 21 years, has the acronym of OCD.

"I hadn't really thought about what title I had," he said, "but, a long time ago, I did note that Organist/Choir Director abbreviates as OCD -- which, in itself, may be revealing."

In a way, it's indicative of how Waldele has felt about playing the organ for almost his entire life -- 50 years to be exact.

It wasn't always the organ that was his musical focus, however. At age 7, he started studying piano under the tutelage of Jane Tonneson, who was also the director of the Junior Choir at the Saugerties Methodist Church. It was when he began signing in the choir that he became fascinated with the organ.

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When asked if his parents were also musically inclined, Waldele said, "My mother did enjoy singing -- particularly hymns in church and with her Sunday School classes, but neither claimed to have any musical talent."

In fact, Waldele reminisced that his father used to say his own musical talent was "knowing not to sing." He said his transition to the organ was because he was becoming indifferent toward the piano, but didn't know why.

"Jane Tonneson, my piano teacher, noticed my fascination with the organ pedals and invited me to try it out in place of that week's piano lesson," Waldele said. "For the rest of that year, I alternated piano and organ lessons each week; by eighth grade, I switched to organ."

At age 14, he became the organist at Trinity Episcopal Church on a trial/audition basis, and, "at the end of the month, the Vestry offered me the position there through the Sunday I left for college."

Waldele attended Northwestern University Technological Institute, majoring in computer logic design with a minor in electric power and in 1972 received his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. But his expertise was not forgotten, as he also served as an assistant organist for one school year at the Methodist Church in Arlington Heights, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago.

He started to work for New York Independent System Operator, Inc., (formerly Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and the New York Power Pool in Guilderland in June 1972. He remained there until his retirement in 2009.

Currently, Waldele is an energy planning and transmission consultant. He has consulted on several upstate New York wind projects' connection studies. He's also a training seminar instructor for the Power & Energy Society, a group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, an international organization for professional electrical engineers.

"I teach one day of a three-day program entitled 'Plain Talk about the Electric Power System,' and cover the bulk interstate transmission system, the (power) grid and national electric reliability standards," he said.

However, along with his "day job," Waldele not only did three-to-four month interim organist stints at the Plattekill Church, but also at the St. James, St. John's Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church and the Fair Street Reformed Church in Kingston, Saugerties Methodist and St. Paul's Lutheran Church in West Camp. While at Fair Street, he had the opportunity to work with the church music director, Perk Gazley.

"Much of what I know about directing a church choir I learned from Perk," Waldele said.

When, now-retired Pastor John Needham and the Church Consistory at the Plattekill Church offered him the permanent position of organist and choir director, he accepted.

"I have not regretted that decision," Waldele said. "We have a wonderful and hard-working choir that's great to work with and a very appreciate church family that supports the choir and me."

So what exactly are the duties of being choir director?

"Probably the single most important responsibility of any church organist is to lead the congregation in the singing of the hymns," he said. "I also have to plan and rehearse the music the choir will perform each Sunday, select and prepare service music for the prelude, offertory and postlude for each service, and work with the pastor, the Worship Committee and other church staff to plan special services."

What Waldele loves most about the organ is the range of tonal colors and its musical voice, along with "the challenge of simultaneously using my hands and feet to play -- and doing that while directing a choir, too!"

His appreciation for the organ does not go unnoticed. As Plattekill congregation and choir member Ila Mongillo said, "We're so lucky to have him here for the past 21 years, as he's in demand and is a magnificent musician."

Mongillo added that the congregation gave Waldele a dinner party and roast in September for which Carol Mason, another choir member, wrote the script for the roast with Joan Coles and Marilyn Felton handling much of the planning and dinner preparations.

After stating he was surprised that it was catered, Waldele said, Mason, along with her "co-conspirator" Sheila Haslam, put together the program for the roast script with accompanying photos and organized the choir to sing a song they wrote.

"They had pictures and a script that brought in my love of trains going back to my childhood and a picture of me in my Northwestern University Marching Band uniform," he said.

He also said Needham reminisced about how they got him to stay and their shared love of model railroading.

Although writing a roast usually pokes jest, Mason reaffirmed everyone's accolades of Waldele.

"Bob's been a great choir director and organist," she said. "It's not just singing every week. He makes it a lot of fun. We're a good group of people, but not professionals and he (Waldele) has a lot of patience and works hard to make it all work. He expects much from us, but he's a not a taskmaster."

She said the choir members joke with Waldele that they've broken him in. She emphasized, however, that, over the years, it's really the choir members who have learned what was expected of them and he taught them how to make it all happen.

Besides playing the organ, Waldele enjoys photography, listening to music, coaches youth bowling at the Saugerties Bowlers Club and serves as the association manager at the Catskill Mountains Youth Bowling Association.

However, this man's other real passion, since childhood, is HO gauge trains. He's a member of the West Shore Model Railroad Club -- with his own outdoor garden railroad at his home.

So how long does Waldele think he'll continue his directorship?

"I'd like to say as long as I can read and play the notes or as long as the choir will tolerate me."